Northwest Family.

A Helping Hand For Elderly On Low Income

Centers Get Funding For New Program On Money Management

ELK GROVE — The Kenneth Young Centers in Elk Grove Village, a not-for-profit community-based behavioral health agency, is starting a new money management program that assists low-income elderly clients.

The Kenneth Young Centers, or KYC, received a $20,000 grant from the Illinois Department on Aging for the program. Four branches of Harris Bank are contributing an additional $5,000.

"The money that Harris Bank is contributing is helping us expand the program to people who need it but don't fit other (state) guidelines," said Rae Cathcart, manager of senior services at KYC.

The money management program is designed to prolong independence for elderly people who may have trouble budgeting their income or savings, paying bills or even opening bills due to memory impairment or other physical and emotional disabilities.

It was developed by the American Association of Retired Persons. KYC will administer the program in Elk Grove and Schaumburg Townships.

Volunteers are matched with seniors by Tish Rudnicki, a coordinator at KYC who supervises the money management program. Officials hope to have the program up and running in early March.

"We recruit and train volunteers," said Betty Jones, community relations coordinator at KYC. "We already have 25 people who are interested."

Volunteers will attend two three-hour training sessions conducted by Rudnicki. The sessions will include an overview of the programs at KYC and the tasks involved in the money management program. After a reference check, volunteers will be interviewed and then matched with a client.

The Kenneth Young Centers serve about 2,800 seniors each year. As part of the screening process, KYC staff members make families of elderly people aware of community support and in-home service alternatives to nursing homes. More than 1,800 of the elderly clients served by KYC last year live alone.

The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission estimates that more than 48,000 senior citizens are above the age of 60 in Elk Grove and Schaumburg Townships.

The commission projects that number will increase to more than 68,000 within the next decade as the Baby Boom generation continues to age. But Jones said the fastest-growing segment of the senior population is those 85 and older.

Jones said more than half of KYC's senior clients last year were over 75 with more than half of these living below the poverty line.

Jones said it is rare for seniors to contact KYC by themselves.

"It's usually a gatekeeper who contacts us, a discharge planner for a hospital, an adult child, a village nurse at the township office, or a friend or neighbor," Jones said.